With the easy cylinders, you just stick your spark plug socket on your 12-inch extension, lower it into each hole and remove the plugs. Cylinder seven requires some wiggling through the hoses to get to the plugs, especially if you unclip and remove some of the hoses, but you cannot put that long extension on the socket for cylinders six and eight because the brake booster is in the way. At the same time, you need the extension, because the plug is too far down into the head to reach with just the socket. This is where the DIY write-up becomes very helpful.
Hard Part
To get to the plugs in cylinders six and eight, the OP explains how to lower the socket in, followed by two different small extensions. This will allow you to reach the plug without too much interference from the brake booster, but when you go to remove the plug from the tube, you will need to gradually remove the ratchet, then each one of the extensions.
Putting these plugs back in is just as hard as getting them out, so you will want to finish the hard part of this job by installing the new plugs in six and eight first. You need to use a standard socket rather than a spark plug socket so that it doesn’t get stuck on the plug. Putting the plug in the socket, you want to slowly lower the two down into the tube, followed by the two extensions and then the ratchet – carefully threading in the plugs and tightening them down.
Once the plugs are in cylinders six and eight, you can re-install those coil packs and move around to cylinder seven, installing those two plugs and the coil pack before hooking the heater hoses back up.
Once you have cylinder six, seven and eight buttoned up, you are in the home stretch. The front five cylinders are all much easier, allowing you to use the long extension to install the plugs before bolting up all of the coil packs.
Key Points to Remember
The OP reminds us to apply anti-seize lubricant to the threads of the new spark plugs before installing them and you don’t want to overtighten the plugs.
He ends the DIY by giving us a look at the old plugs, showing us how they were worn during use.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
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